How Many People Have Died From a Drunk Driver?

Vehicle collisions kill or seriously injure millions of Americans every year. Alcohol is a factor in about a third of these wrecks.

Alcohol consumption affects the mind and body. Alcohol impairs judgment, giving people an artificial sense of euphoria. Alcohol also affects motor skills. Reaction times slow significantly. The duty of care requires drivers to be at their best, mentally and physically, when they get behind the wheel.

If a breach of duty, like alcohol consumption, substantially causes damages, like a car crash, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer can obtain substantial compensation for victims, whether or not the tortfeasor (negligent driver) was legally drunk. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Alcohol Consumption and Driver Negligence

Drunk drivers often kill people even though they aren’t drunk. Most people are legally drunk after they have two or three drinks in short succession. But the aforementioned impairments begin with the first sip of alcohol.

To prove non-intoxication driver impairment, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer typically uses circumstantial evidence, such as:

• Driver’s Previous Stops: If the tortfeasor was recently at a place, such as a bar or party, where alcohol was available, it’s more likely than not that the tortfeasor had at least one drink at that place. Attorneys often use business receipts or witness statements to further establish consumption.
• Physical Symptoms: Physical symptoms of alcohol consumption include bloodshot eyes, unsteady balance, and unsteady balance. Lots of things could cause these symptoms. Fortunately for victims, because of the low burden of proof in civil cases (more on that below), the whole of this evidence is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Driver’s Statements: As mentioned, alcohol impairs judgment. The trauma of a car accident impairs judgment as well, mostly because car accidents cause head injuries. The combination of mental impairments often prompts alcohol-soaked tortfeasors to say things they later wish they didn’t say.

Everyone, and not just tortfeasors, should watch what they say after vehicle collisions. For example, a victim’s apology could later be twisted into an admission of liability.

The burden of proof in a civil case is a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). So, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer doesn’t have to “prove” the tortfeasor was drinking. The above evidence is usually more than enough to establish consumption as a matter of law.

Negligence Per Se and Drunk Driving Matters

If emergency responders cited the tortfeasor for DUI, the tortfeasor could be liable for damages as a matter of law. The negligence per se shortcut applies if:

• The tortfeasor broke the DUI law or any other safety law, and
• That infraction substantially caused injury.

There’s a difference between a substantial cause and a contributing cause. Bad weather or other adverse conditions often contribute to car crashes. But poor conditions almost never substantially cause collisions. Driver error substantially causes more than 90 percent of the car wrecks in California.

Legal intoxication doesn’t just make it easier to prove negligence, or a lack of care. Legal intoxication also increases the possibility of additional punitive damages. Arguably, these tortfeasors knew they shouldn’t drive. But they got behind the wheel anyway, intentionally placing other people at risk.

Rely on a Hard-Hitting San Diego County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Golden State.